Catching the summer of supermoons

By Jareen Imam, CNN

Updated 12:39 PM ET, Sun July 13, 2014

The summer of supermoons20 photos

The summer of supermoons – Although the supermoon is not as rare as some other celestial events, it still inspires people to turn their gazes skyward. During the early morning hours of July 12, Marie Sager ventured outside her Los Angeles backyard to spot the supermoon before it faded away.

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The summer of supermoons – Rachel Cauvin photographed the supermoon hanging over the Bronx, New York, sky. The morning haze seemed to give the moon a red hue.

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The summer of supermoons – Minister Glenn Daman shot this photo from his deck in Stevenson, Washington, as the moon rose on the mountains across the Columbia River Gorge. He was hoping to capture "the surreal and haunting image that the cloud covere provided." We'd say he succeeded!

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The summer of supermoons – As the supermoon rose over the Long Island coast, Elias Aliprandis said he was inspired to take a photo because of its amazing beauty and bright orange hue.

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The summer of supermoons – The supermoon this weekend was the best one iReporter Vijay Pandrangi has ever seen. The software engineer from Bothell, Washington, says he can't wait to see the supermoon again on August 10.

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The summer of supermoons – It took Tim Durkan several lonely hours to get the perfect shot of the supermoon over the weekend in Seattle.

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The summer of supermoons – Durkan waited outside all night to photograph the supermoon, trying to capture an evening and day shot of the bright moon.

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The summer of supermoons – Mike Chiodo, who professionally goes by Mikiodo, loved photographing the supermoon so much, he did it two nights in a row. "Living in New York City, I am always craving some nature; I don't get enough. So I often look to the evening and nighttime skies to get my fix," he said.

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The summer of supermoons – "Every supermoon and celestial event is an opportunity to practice and figure out what settings work best for different shots," Talia Landman of Orlando, Florida, said.

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The summer of supermoons – Homer Liwag and his dog Sake sat in the desert in Las Vegas, Nevada, waiting for the supermoon. "This supermoon was striking as usual," he said.

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The summer of supermoons – Kelli Thompson photographed the supermoon from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. "The airplane bisecting the supermoon was quite unusual and unexpected," she said.

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The summer of supermoons – Janice Wei photographed the supermoon from the San Francisco Bay Area on July 12. "I love to capture the moon. It's very beautiful and powerful when it's full," she said.

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The summer of supermoons – "It was so beautiful. It was larger than other moons. We had a thunderstorm trying to develop right when it was rising," Patti Wolff from Phoenix, Oregon, said.

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The summer of supermoons20 photos

The summer of supermoons – The supermoon made an exciting appearance in other parts of the world, too. Marlo Cueto ventured to a park in Makati City, Philippines, so that he could find some sky that wasn't saturated by light pollution. Using a DSLR camera, he photographed the moon through the thick clouds floating above.

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The summer of supermoons – Stojan Stojanovski photographed the supermoon from Ohrid, Macedonia. He photographs the supermoon every year and tries to find interesting ways of showcasing its beauty. This year, he took of a photo of the moon behind a family of storks.

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The summer of supermoons – Will Cuccaro made this "bracketed" image from three individual photos taken at varying exposures. "Finding the right level of bracketing and then the right shutter speeds and aperture was trial and error. All in all, about 25 minutes outside in 100-degree heat = pain in the butt!"

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The summer of supermoons – Over the years, Katherine Murray has taken some nice full moon photos from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but capturing an orange moon had eluded her until this weekend. "I was thrilled to be able to get the actual color as it came over the dunes," she said.

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The summer of supermoons – "Clouds obstructed the moon until very late. But when I came outside at about 3:00 a.m. it was very bright!" Wanda Gemson wrote in her iReport. She watched the supermoon from Yucca Valley, California.

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The summer of supermoons – After seeing people sharing beautiful supermoon photos, Manuel Navarro tried his hand at astrophotography. He captured this up-close shot of the moon over Chula Vista, California, with the help of a telescope on July 13.

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The summer of supermoons – "As a photographer and astronomer, a full moon is typically nothing to get excited about for me unless it's going to be somehow unique, such as in color," John Thiel of Astoria in Queens, New York, said. When he saw the amber coloring of the moon, he had to take a photo.

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Story highlights

It's the summer of the supermoons with three of the celestial events

Missed the one Friday night and Saturday morning? Don't worry -- there are two more to come

The lunar event inspired iReporters to photograph the supermoon

The first of this season's summer of supermoons filled the night sky over the weekend.

July's supermoon happened Friday evening and peaked early Saturday morning, on July 12. But night owls, stargazers and early morning risers will be able to feast their eyes on more lunar showings soon. The next two are scheduled for August 10 and September 9, according to NASA.

The supermoon occurs when the moon becomes full on the same days as its perigee, which is the point in the moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth.

"Full moons occur near perigee every 13 months and 18 days, so it's not all that unusual," Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory said in a statement from NASA. "In fact, just last year, there were three perigee moons in a row, but only one was widely reported."

Photos: Supermoon lights up the night sky 7 photos

Photos: Supermoon lights up the night sky7 photos

Supermoon lights up the night sky – A "supermoon" is seen over a bridge in the center of Skopje, Macedononia, on Saturday, June 12. The phenomenon occurs when the moon becomes full on the same day as its perigee -- the point in the moon's orbit when it's closet to Earth.

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Photos: Supermoon lights up the night sky7 photos

Supermoon lights up the night sky – The moon rises behind figurines on a pavilillon in Beijing, China. Due to it's closer proximity to the Earth the moon appears larger and brighter than normal.

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Photos: Supermoon lights up the night sky7 photos

Supermoon lights up the night sky – The moon is seen as it rises above Dojran Lake in southeastern Macedonia. NASA says that there will be three "supermoons" this year, occuring on July 12, August 10 and September 9.

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Supermoon lights up the night sky – The moon is cradled in a crescent of the dome of the grand Faisal mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan.

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Photos: Supermoon lights up the night sky7 photos

Supermoon lights up the night sky – The moon over Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock.

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Supermoon lights up the night sky – The moon is seen behind a traditional Ramadan lantern in downtown Beirut, Lebanon.

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Photos: Supermoon lights up the night sky7 photos

Supermoon lights up the night sky – The moon casts a glow on clouds over a forest near Sarajevo.

Just Watched

The science behind the supermoon

New York City resident Rachel Cauvin says seeing the supermoon was an incredible spectacle. She woke up early Saturday morning to watch it from the balcony of her Bronx apartment.

An astronomy fan, she photographed the supermoon hanging over the city that morning. Because of the haze, the moon was not as bright as she hoped it would be, but she says it was still a beautiful sight. She has marked her calendar for the next two showings in August and September.

Sometimes the supermoon is difficult to distinguish from a full moon because clouds can mask the difference in brightness and size, according to NASA.

But Southern California resident Marie Sager had to take a chance to catch the much-anticipated supermoon on July 12 and even set her alarm back so she wouldn't miss it. She trekked out into her Los Angeles backyard to see the glowing supermoon still lingering in the Saturday morning sky.

She had photographed it late Friday evening, but she says it was much larger and brighter Saturday morning, so missing out on a few extra hours of sleep was worth it.

She is also looking forward to the other supermoons this summer. "I am a stargazer and a moon watcher, and hopefully, weather permitting, I'll be there waiting and watching," she said.

Even though Talia Landman has seen the supermoon countless times, the educator at the Kennedy Space Center was standing outside her Orlando, Florida, home hoping to get a glimpse of the glowing moon.

What draws her out to see these astronomical events is their uniqueness, she explained. "Every supermoon is a different experience. A lot of factors play into it, such as location, weather, time of night," she said.

"This one was just as beautiful as the others. Maybe even a little brighter," she said.